The carriage hadn’t reached Chongzi Gou yet when Wang Yongping already arrived in front of them, his face flushed with excitement, "Song Brothers, sister, I’ve finally waited for you! Why did you only come today? It’s been several days, and I thought you didn’t want me anymore, that you’d leave me behind in Chongzi Gou!"
Wang Yongzhu looked behind Wang Yongping, at Liu Xiaoqiao who had hurried down, and revealed a meaningful smile, "Chongzi Gou is so nice, does Fourth Brother not want to stay here?"
Liu Xiaoqiao arrived just in time to hear this remark and her face instantly flushed with color.
But Wang Yongping hadn’t thought so much, simply scratching his head and laughing in his simple way, "That won’t do, what would I stay here for? Once we finish gathering the mountain goods, naturally I’ll head home."
But he had not noticed that Liu Xiaoqiao behind him had paled, barely squeezing out a smile with pursed lips, "Sister Wang is here, and since a few days ago, Fourth Brother has been waiting at the entrance of the village every day, looking out for sister."
Wang Yongzhu hurried forward to take Liu Xiaoqiao’s hand, explaining, "We should have come a few days earlier, but something came up at home, so we were delayed. I’m really sorry!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yongping quickly asked, "What happened at home? Why didn’t anyone come to call me back?"
Wang Yongzhu literally wanted to kneel for Wang Yongping’s lack of emotional intelligence, glared at him, and turned to Liu Xiaoqiao with a smiling face, "There was no big issue at home, it was just some people who were jealous of our family’s business, causing trouble! They have been driven away long ago, what’s the use of calling you back? By the time you got there, it would’ve been too late!"
Being used to getting teased by his sister, Wang Yongping could only laugh it off, relieved that there were no problems at home.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but ask if their parents were well? He went on to ask about everyone, almost to the point of inquiring if even the chickens at home were okay.
Wang Yongzhu had never thought Wang Yongping could be so long-winded, and she promptly kicked him towards Song Chongjin, "You go ahead and drive the carriage up with Brother Song first. I’ll walk behind with Sister Xiao Qiao, it’s a good opportunity to chat."
Wang Yongping wanted to say something else, but Song Chongjin hurriedly dragged him away.
If this oblivious guy didn’t leave, the girl he had his eye on might just slip away because of him.
Once Wang Yongping had left, Liu Xiaoqiao reverted to her usual self and exchanged pleasantries with Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu intentionally brought up Wang Yongping in the conversation, first thanking the Liu Family for taking care of him, apologizing for troubling them, and asking for their understanding.
Liu Xiaoqiao hastily explained on Wang Yongping’s behalf, "Fourth Brother has been very diligent in our house, getting up early to fetch water and clean the courtyard. When he has time, he helps out in the mountains, and when he’s free, he helps with preparing the game and fixing the roof, he’s done so much! How could we say he’s causing trouble?"
Wang Yongzhu felt reassured.
After a few more probing questions, Liu Xiaoqiao, being a forthright girl, and used to dealing directly with hunters in the mountains, did not conceal her fondness for Wang Yongping. Moreover, a young girl with newly awakened feelings can hardly control herself, and in ten sentences she spoke, at least eight would involve Fourth Brother.
In this pleasant chat, they arrived at the Liu Family’s home, where the Liu brothers had come out to greet them.
Before they could speak two sentences with the Parents of the Liu Family inside, the carriage was already surrounded by a crowd outside.
The idle children in the village had seen the Wang Family’s carriage and immediately went home to inform their parents and relatives.
And now, the maiden women and young wives, who were thinking about the fabrics Wang Yongzhu had mentioned last time, and the men concerned with the remaining unsettled silver, all rushed over.
Wang Yongzhu heard the commotion outside and had no choice but to apologize to the Parents of the Liu Family.
The Parents of the Liu Family were very understanding, and now that their daughter had taken a liking to the Wang Family’s Fourth Child, knowing that she would marry into the Wang Family, it was foolish to offend Wang Yongzhu, this formidable younger sister-in-law.
Not only did they not mind, but they also came out to help, shouting to everyone not to rush and to come one by one.
Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, the villagers of Chongzi Gou were naturally no longer in a hurry.
Wang Yongzhu first unloaded the cloth she brought, and Song Chongjin borrowed a table from the Liu Family, displaying the fabric in a neat line.
Indigo, crimson, plum red...
Instantly, there was a burst of exclamation from the women; their eyes couldn’t look away.
Those women who were closer cautiously reached out to touch it, but halfway through, they drew back their hand, not daring to touch.
Even if they couldn’t discern the quality, they perceived that the fabric was far superior to anything they wore on a daily basis. What would they do if they soiled or damaged it and couldn’t afford to compensate?
Wang Yongzhu had come prepared. For each color of the fabric, she had a small separate piece, specifically for people to touch and feel the quality.
She generously took them out for everyone to try in their hands.
Upon hearing Wang Yongzhu’s instructions, the women surged forward, nearly coming to blows over the opportunity to feel the samples.
As for the men, Song Chongjin had Wang Yongping usher them aside, where tables and chairs were also set up.
Then Wang Yongping took out his ledger, which clearly listed who provided what forest goods, the deposit given, and the remaining balance owed.
There were fingerprints of both parties on the entries for the deposit and remaining balance.
This method was devised by Wang Yongzhu. She had several ledgers custom-made with pre-printed tables that only needed to be filled in.
Because Wang Yongan was studying, the other Wang Family sons also recognized some characters and could write simple ones.
The categories on the ledger were clearly marked, and Wang Yongping only had to check the appropriate boxes, making everything clear at a glance.
Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu had divided the tasks on the way here: Wang Yongzhu was in charge of cutting fabric for the women, while Song Chongjin settled the remaining payments with the men.
When Wang Yongping called a name, the corresponding person came forward, confirmed the debt recorded, checked the final amount due, and then signed or made their mark in the ledger.
It was a bit more chaotic on the women’s side since they found one piece of fabric desirable and couldn’t bear to part with another, hesitating for a long time.
Those waiting to make a purchase were growing impatient.
This fabric was so good that everyone felt its softness and thickness upon handling it. The flaws that were called so were not considered an issue at all to them.
How often did such good fortune come by? Everyone wanted to take more yards, and even those who had not intended to buy found themselves tempted to take a couple of yards home.
With such high demand and limited supply, everyone worried they wouldn’t get their share, urging those in front of them to hurry, creating a noisy commotion.
Wang Yongzhu stood up and assured everyone that they would all get some fabric. Even if they didn’t find something suitable this time, she promised to bring more fabric the next time she came up the mountain.
This finally calmed the women down.
Lining up, they took turns indicating how much they wanted from each fabric on the table.
Fortunately, Wang Yongzhu had learned tailoring from Lady Jiang and knew how to cut the fabric. Although it took some time, her good attitude and generosity, giving an extra inch or half an inch regardless of how much fabric each family took, left everyone happy and satisfied.
After choosing their fabric and settling the accounts, the women were reluctant to go home for money and simply shouted for the men who had just finished paying their debts to come over and pay.